Before you start

A valid residence permit
Your foreign licence, valid, with an accepted Chinese translation
A Chinese driver medical examination
Passport and temporary residence registration slip

Step-by-step

1
Accept that the IDP does not work here
Mainland China is not party to the 1968 Vienna Convention, so the International Driving Permit confers nothing. Hong Kong and Macau are separate jurisdictions with their own licensing, which is where most of the confusion originates.
OnlineWho: You
2
Get an accepted translation of your licence
Guangzhou's vehicle administration accepts translations from designated agencies only. A translation commissioned abroad will normally be refused at the counter.
In personWho: You
3
Complete the driver medical
A short examination at an approved hospital covering eyesight, colour vision and limb function. The certificate has a limited life, so do it shortly before applying.
In personWho: You1 day
4
Sit Subject 1, the written theory test
One hundred questions from a published national bank, on a terminal, available in English. For ordinary car categories the field and road tests are waived when converting a valid foreign licence. Practise with a question-bank app.
In personWho: YouHalf a day
5
Understand the plate quota before you buy
Guangzhou controls new plate issuance and allocates through a combination of free lottery and paid auction, with separate treatment for new-energy vehicles. Eligibility conditions for foreign residents typically require a residence permit of adequate duration and local tax or social insurance records. Confirm the current mechanism with the municipal transport bureau.
OnlineWho: You
6
Learn the 'drive four, stop four' restriction
Vehicles with non-Guangzhou plates may spend only a limited run of consecutive days inside the restricted central zone before being required to stay out for a matching period. This closes the obvious workaround of registering a car in a neighbouring city. Check the current zone boundaries and day counts — both have been adjusted over time.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport and residence permit
Temporary residence registration slip
Foreign driving licence and accepted Chinese translation
Driver medical certificate
Passport photographs to Chinese specification

Things most newcomers don’t know

'Drive four, stop four' is the reason a Foshan plate does not solve your problem.

Registering a car in a neighbouring Pearl River Delta city is the obvious response to Guangzhou's plate quota, and the city anticipated it: non-Guangzhou-plated vehicles may spend only a limited number of consecutive days inside the restricted central zone before being required to stay out for a matching period. Enforcement is by camera and the fines accrue per occurrence. Check the current zone and day counts before assuming the workaround works.

Source: Guangzhou municipal transport authority

The practical driving tests are waived, which makes China easier to convert into than Japan or Korea.

A holder of a valid foreign licence converting to an ordinary car category normally sits only Subject 1, the written theory examination, available in English. Japan and Korea both require closed-course practical tests that experienced drivers routinely fail. The Chinese exceptions are heavy vehicle categories, and applicants who cannot evidence enough residence in the issuing country during the year the licence was obtained.

Source: Ministry of Public Security traffic management rules

Guangzhou's metro is one of the largest in the world and the city is dense enough to use it.

Guangzhou has among the longest metro networks anywhere, covering the whole built-up area including the airport and both high-speed rail stations. Combined with cheap DiDi, ubiquitous shared bikes and a plate quota, the case for owning a car here is weak unless you regularly leave the city. Most foreign residents never convert their licence at all — which is fine until you want to drive to Dapeng or into the hills.

Source: community-reported

Scooter and e-bike traffic is the real road hazard, not cars.

Guangzhou has an enormous population of electric two-wheelers used for delivery and commuting, and they are quiet, fast and frequently on the pavement or travelling the wrong way down a lane. This is the dominant everyday risk to a pedestrian or a cyclist in the city and it is not something a driving licence protects you from. Look both ways on a one-way street; locals do.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving with an International Driving Permit and assuming you can drive.
Buying a Foshan- or Dongguan-plated car and running into 'drive four, stop four'.
Booking the theory test before the translation and medical are in hand.
Assuming a Hong Kong or Macau licence covers you on the mainland.
Treating e-bikes as a minor hazard — they are the main one.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.